What if you went to work every day concerned for your safety and that of your coworkers? Tragically, in this era of deep mistrust, that is what many of the public officials in Arizona who administer our elections must endure.
A poll by the Brennan Center found that 45% of local election officials said they fear for the safety of their colleagues.
Nearly one in three election officials have been harassed, abused or threatened because of their job, and more than half of respondents expressed concern that the attacks will make it more difficult to retain or recruit election workers in future elections.
This is real for Arizona election workers.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes felt live shooter training was necessary for his workforce. One county election official’s dogs were poisoned.
After 10 years of service, the Yavapai County recorder resigned in the face of relentless threats that led to law enforcement protection.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer felt it necessary to invest in fences, guards and bulletproof glass to protect the election workers in his county from threats fueled by disinformation and conspiracy theories.
This is outrageous and unacceptable, and it’s having a serious impact on our state.
According to a report by Issue One, a group working to make democracy more inclusive, 98% of Arizonans will see the 2024 election administered by someone other than the officials who administered the 2020 election.
This represents more turnover than any other state.
As Arizona business leaders, we often focus on driving growth and innovation within our organizations. Yet, amid our daily pursuits, we must not overlook our role in nurturing the democratic fabric of our communities.
A healthy, functioning democracy is the cornerstone of a strong economy. However, the well-documented threats to our democracy, and particularly to our elections, are creating new risks.
How to keep the election focused:On issues voters care about
Political violence and election uncertainty can disrupt employee productivity, hinder consumer spending and create government dysfunction, directly affecting business operations and stability.
Business leaders are particularly well-positioned to act. The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer found that business is the most trusted institution, and 62% of respondents expect CEOs to manage changes occurring in society, not just those occurring in their business.
Therefore, we have launched a new organization, Leadership Now Arizona, a group of Arizona business and community leaders — Republicans, independents and Democrats — who stand for a strong democracy in our state.
We have prioritized four principles:
Our first initiative is a commitment to using our voices and influence to speak out against attacks and threats on those administering our elections. These public servants deserve our thanks and our support.
To that end, we’ve written an open letter to these administrators: “We will ask our colleagues and peers, along with our state’s elected officials, to stand with us, support election officials across the state, call out election denialism where we see it, and commit to efforts that defend our democracy from further attack.“
The letter to election officials has been signed by a cross-partisan group of more than 45 business leaders, many of them CEOs, including Peter Fine of Banner Health, Sharon Harper of Plaza Companies, Glenn Hickman of Hickman’s Family Farms and Kate Wells of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix.
We invite other business leaders across the state to join us in actively protecting Arizona elections, election workers and volunteers.
John Fees is the CEO of GradGuard and Adam Goodman is the CEO of Goodmans. Reach them at info@leadershipnowarizona.org.
CEOs will not let threats against election workers stand
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16.06.2024
What if you went to work every day concerned for your safety and that of your coworkers? Tragically, in this era of deep mistrust, that is what many of the public officials in Arizona who administer our elections must endure.
A poll by the Brennan Center found that 45% of local election officials said they fear for the safety of their colleagues.
Nearly one in three election officials have been harassed, abused or threatened because of their job, and more than half of respondents expressed concern that the attacks will make it more difficult to retain or recruit election workers in future elections.
This is real for Arizona election workers.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes felt live shooter training was necessary for his workforce. One county election official’s dogs were poisoned.
After 10 years of service, the Yavapai County recorder resigned in the face of relentless threats that led to law enforcement........
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